SATIRE

A traditional definition of Satire would see it attributed solely as a tool of the literary arts, and indeed many of the great examples of satirical comedy come in printed form. A good example of this in modern times would be the book entitled Animal Farm written by George Orwell. This book uses a farmyard, and the animals that inhabit it, to tell the tale of the Russian Revolution and bring attention to the more shady aspects of human character, which affected the instigators of the event.

As media opportunities have opened up in the areas of the performing arts such as TV, comic books, radio and theatre we have seen many satirical based comedy presentations produced.
Satire is used to draw attention to folly, shortcomings, vices and abuses by the use of ridicule or irony. The intent is usually to bring about an improvement. Satire is mostly intended to be funny although often the purpose of satire is not always to be funny, sometimes it will be an angry attack, usually on somebody or something that the author has strong feelings about, using wit as a weapon.

Satire and parody can often be disturbing due to the fact it will combine anger and humour to deliver a strong statement regarding its subject matter. Viewed by many as the subtlest form of comedy it is often not appreciated by those individuals with a coarser sense of humour.